Andrew Moravcsik (1957- ) is a Princeton professor renowned for his work in the field of international relations. In his article "Taking Preferences Seriously: A Liberal Theory of International Politics", Moravcsik seeks to explain liberalism as a basic theory of international relations. He believes that liberal theory operates under three key assumptions. The first is that the fundamental actors in international relations are individuals and private groups that usually rational and risk-averse and work together in order to promote their interests. The second is that states are not actors per se, rather, they represent some group of domestic people or entities that then determine state preferences. The third is that state preferences influence state behavior, which is also influenced by the preferences and behavior of other states. Moravcsik uses these core assumptions to state that liberalism can explain foreign policy based on what states want and can also help determine the outcomes of interstate interactions. [16]